Manhattan
by Mistress of the Strange
Summary: AU: There are a lot of ways to begin a story, but it could be said this one begun the day Spencer Hastings found 'Manhattan' and met Toby Cavanaugh in it.
1. Chapter 1

**Manhattan**

**Prologue**

**by: Mistress of the Strange**

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**Hey guys… this is my first Pretty Little Liars FanFiction. It's an AU, so there no A. Here Toby is one year older than the Liars, so while they are in their last year of high school, Toby already graduated. I think the rest of the changes will get clearer as the story advances. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes…**

* * *

_I think that possibly__  
__maybe I'm falling for you__  
__Yes there's a chance that__  
__I've fallen quite hard over you_

* * *

There are a lot of ways to begin a story.

It could be said this one begun the day Spencer Hastings found a small bookstore and coffee shop called _Manhattan _just a few streets away from house. The place was small but cozy and the owner was a Spanish writer who decided to share his enormous collection of books with people.

Spencer found almost by accident, on a day her best friend Aria had not gone to school, therefore, leaving her without a ride home. After that, she had started going there more and more often, until she practically was on a first-name basis with the homeless guy that sleeps in that streets corner.

There was a guy who was there as much as her, if not more; he was tall, with deep mesmerizing blue eyes, a stocky built, messy brown hair, a slightly tanned skin and a beautiful smile. Even though Spencer wasn't one to fawn over guys, she couldn't deny that this one was extremely good looking.

The guy -whose name she didn't know yet- and her sat close to each other almost always. First by coincidence, because there weren't many seats left, and then, just because they liked each other presence, as if they were unspoken book reading, coffee drinking partners.

And slowly she started noticing things about the guy. Like how he always ordered an iced coffee, if he came in the mornings, and a chocolate milkshake in the afternoon, and stayed there reading until late in the night, and how he seemed to enjoy reading _The Hunger Games Trilogy_ a lot cause in the time she had... known him? No... More like... noticing him, she had seen him with it over 8 times.

On a Saturday morning Spencer woke up early and went to _'Manhattan',_ grabbed the copy of _Catching Fire_, and settled in her favorite spot, a loveseat right next the windows.

Two hours and three cups of black, almost sugarless coffee later, when she was starting to get ready to leave, the blue eyed boy entered the Manhattan and, after making his order, started looking for something in the shelves.

Spencer stopped what she was doing and stared at the guys back, until suddenly, he turned around with a confused expression, and spotted the book in her hands.

"Oh, there it is."

Spencer looked down and frowned. "D-Do you want it?" She stuttered. _Stuttered_. Spencer Hasting _never_ stuttered. What did this guy have that he made her so… un-Spencer like?

"No! I- I have read that book like a hundred times, it's cool." He said turning around and grabbing a random book before sitting in the seat next to Spencer. "I'm Toby, by the way. I've seen you around a lot lately." He added.

"I'm Spencer," She answered. "And well yeah, I sort of found this place like… two weeks ago, I just fell in love with it instantly. I mean coffee and books? My two favorite things in the world."

"So, are you liking it?" Toby asked.

"Huh?"

"The book" He explained pointing at it. "Do you like it so far?"

"Oh, I… I have already read it too, actually. I do, I like it a lot. It's one of my favorites" Spencer smiled.

"Mine too. I… well I just love those books."

After a pregnant pause, Toby's drink arrived and the waiter asked Spencer if she wanted something else. On one side, Spencer was already getting ready to leave, but in the other side, she had just met Toby and well, there was something in him that made her want to stay.

So she asked for another cup of coffee.

"Do you go to Rosewood High? I don't think I've seen you there." Spencer asked, trying to defuse the tension.

"Oh, no… I graduated last year; I used to live in Philadelphia and moved here in the summer…"

Spencer nodded, and opened her mouth to ask another stupid useless questing, but her cell phone started blasting _Barbie Girl _and Spencer cursed the day she had allowed Hanna to pick her own ringtone.

"I've got to take this…"She excused herself and Toby just smiled and nodded.

Spencer walked to the bathroom and answered the phone "Hello?"

"Hi, Spence!" Hanna chirped. "Are you up for lunch with me and Em at The Grillie?"

Spencer weighted her options. The girls had lunch together almost every Saturday. If she said no, she would be in for a long Q&A session with Hanna about why she couldn't make it, and she didn't feel like telling the girls about Toby yet.

If she said yes, she would have to leave and stop talking to Toby, but it wasn't like she was never going to see him again. She would probably see him the next day.

She sighed "Sure… I'll meet you there in twenty."

Spencer hung up and went back to where Toby was and with an apologetic glance she started picking up her things. "Sorry, I have to go; I'm going to meet up some friends."

"Don't worry," Toby said "I guess I'll… see you later?"

"Yes... you will" Spencer nodded and smiled as she started walking to the courter to pay for her coffee.

Toby stared at her until she disappeared through the door and sighed.

There was _something_ in this girl he couldn't stop thinking about. She was beautiful for starters, No… _gorgeous. _With her big brown eyes and mahogany curls. She didn't have a normal kind of beauty… she had this classical beauty that just took his breath away.

He had noticed her from day one. He saw how it seemed that she loved reading because he had almost never seen her with the same book twice. That she could drink more coffee in one hour that most people could in a day, and it had no effect on her. How she got two cute dimples on each side of her face when she smiled. She had something that drew him towards her.

She was special. Different.

And Toby loved different.


	2. Chapter 2

**Manhattan**

**Chapter 2:**

**by: Mistress of the Strange**

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**Hello! I'm sorry for not posting this earlier, but I had my first round of exams last week. Anyway, thank you SO MUCH, for your reviews, alerts, and favorites, they meant the world to me!**

**I'll try to update on Saturday!**

**If you were wondering last chapter's song was "Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop" by Landon Pigg, and this one is "Stick Around", by Graham Phillips and Ariana Grande.**

**This is a short chapter, but it's important anyway!**

**By the way, if you want to know anything about updates, or the story, I am always on twitter, I'm PurpleSplash77 there if you wanna follow.**

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_There you come with your big, brown eyes and__  
__I'm so sure you got me mesmerized.__  
__So sure, I'm just about to fall for you__  
__But you don't even try and catch me._

Spencer shifted nervously in her seat as she glanced to the door every few minutes.

It had been a week since she and Toby first talked and things were going… pretty good.

The first days were sort of awkward. They talked about average stuff, like the weather, the coffee, books, and things like that, but once the initial awkwardness had been overcome, they started to talk about every kind of random things, like cartoons they watched when they were kids, what they liked to do on the holidays, when they had learned to ride a bike, favorite season, favorite food, favorite gum flavor, and so on and on.

That moment, Toby entered _Manhattan _and quickly searched for the girl that had been on his mind all day long.

Spencer.

H spotted her, in her usual spot next to the window, with the book "_Matched" _in her hands, and a half finished coffee mug in the table in front of her.

"Hi Spencer" Toby greeted after grabbing a copy of _"The Catcher in the Rye"_.

Spencer looked up from her book and smiled "Hey, Toby! How are you?"

"Just fine."

Toby had to fight the urge to sigh. Even though he and Spencer had talked about every kind of random things that past week, initiating the conversations was still awkward, and he almost always found himself saying the first thing that came to his head.

"So… um… Scrabble?"

Spencer looked confused, "What?"

Toby pointed at the Scrabble board lying in the table next to her coffee. "Oh, that. There was a couple sitting here when I entered. I think they were playing."

"Want to play?" He asked hopefully.

Spencer smiled again, with a smile that left Toby breathless. "Sure. Just a warning though. I'm gonna win."

Toby knew he was probably in for a challenge, because in the short time he had known Spencer he had noticed she had a somewhat competitive nature, but he smiled anyway and nodded. Scrabble was his thing after all.

"How about this, the loser gets an ice cream for the loser" He asked.

"Game on." She said with a smirk.

He started getting his tiles from the little bag, and sorting them in his green bar.

"Ladies first" Toby said when they were both ready, and Spencer's face immediately changed to complete concentration Toby found extremely cute.

Twenty minutes later, both Spencer and Toby found that the other was the best opponent they've ever faced, Spencer having 265 points and Toby having 287.

The green bag had been emptied, and Spencer and Toby both had only seven letters left.

Toby looked up incredulously as Spencer arranged her word on the board. "Glyceraldehyde?"

"With the C on the double letter it is 32 points, plus the triple word score gets me 96 points". She said proudly, sure of her victory.

Toby stared at his letters, and smiled, placing down his word. _"_Goofball. You can put down 104 points for me." Spencer stared at him wordlessly "Thanks for the G; I've been waiting for it. Eighteen points times the triple word score, plus the 50 point bingo bonus."

Spencer pursed her lips. "Oh, 104 points. Good for you."

Toby tried to keep a straight face as he said "I like this game"

She glared at him "Let's just go get your ice cream."

Toby burst out laughing, and got up to go the counter. Three minutes later, he came back with two bowls of ice cream, one vanilla and one chocolate, and gave the vanilla one to Spencer, who looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought _I_ was buying you ice cream."

"Honestly, I think you need ice cream more than me." He said, smiling widely, earning another glare from Spencer.

"Thanks." She muttered and they both started to eat their ice cream, but when they were almost done, Spencer looked up from her bowl, looking puzzled. "How did you know what flavor to get me?"

Toby rubbed the back of his neck, nervously. "Oh, well, you mentioned last week that your sister ate all the vanilla ice cream in Christmas, because she knew it was your favorite"

"Oh"

She couldn't believe that he remember that. Silence stood in the air for a moment but then she shook her head. "I should have been the one to buy you ice cream anyway. I lost."

"How about _you _buy me ice cream some other day?" He offered.

Spencer nodded, smiling, but before she could say something, _Barbie Girl_ started playing. Hanna again.

She took her phone out her purse and read the text Hanna sent her, rolling her eyes.

"I gotta go." She said, eating the last spoonfuls of her ice cream quickly and started to walk to the door. "Thanks for the ice cream."

"No problem" Toby said, "To be honest, it was really fun to kick your ass at Scrabble"

Spencer stopped and turned around, an annoyed expression on her face. "It wasn't an ass-kicking. You just won."

"Goodbye, Spencer"


	3. Chapter 3

**Manhattan**

**Chapter 3**

**By: Mistress of the Strange**

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**Hey guys! Not much to say today, just clarifying that this chapter starts almost immediately as last one ends.  
So yeah! Finally the other liars make a glorious appearance!  
Today's song is 'Run Away' by Megan and Liz.  
Follow me on twitter (PurpleSplash77) for information on updates and whatnot.  
By the way I hate myself as much as you hate me for not updating.  
****Feliz Navidad!**

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_It's amazing the changes I've been feeling I'm dreaming about__  
__seeing the world with someone like you__  
__I've been tumbling, shaking and my whole world is breaking__  
__want to put it together?_

* * *

Spencer walked inside 'The Grillie' and spotted her friends in their usual table, in a corner, next to a window.

She walked up to their table and sat next to Aria and in front of Hanna, who was sitting next to Emily.

After asking for their lunch, Hanna (Caesar Salad) looked up and smiled at her friends. "Guess where Caleb is taking me tonight!"

"Where?" Emily (Cheeseburger) asked.

"I said guess!"

"The mall! The movies! The… park?" Aria (Vegetarian Lasagna) said.

"Not even close."

"Well I don't know Hanna. It's not like this town has a lot of places to go to." Emily frowned. "Just tell us."

Hanna smiled even wider as she leaned in. "Tivondra Lounge!"

Tivondra Lounge was one of the two most expensive restaurants at Rosewood, and Hanna was beyond trilled about the fact that Caleb was taking her there. Caleb and Hanna had been dating for four months now, and though they were quite opposite, they complemented each other in a curious way.

Aria squealed happily and Emily smiled at Hanna, and they both started to ask her a bunch of questions.

Spencer (Chicken Salad) however wasn't paying that much of attention to her friend's rants, and her mind was occupied by a certain blue eyed boy.

First was the fact that he beat her at Scrabble. She still wasn't quite over that, but the fact that he had brought her ice cream had been just… so nice of him.

And he even had remembered her favorite flavor! She had mentioned to him once, but it was such a small thing that she never thought that he would pick up that kind of detail.

Spencer frowned. She had only met this boy for a week, but their small encounter and chats at _'Manhattan'_, were starting to be the best part of her day.

She had never clicked this quickly with anybody. But Toby… he… sort of understood her.

"So what do you think Spencer?" Hanna asked, getting her out of her maze of thoughts.

"What?" Spencer said confused.

"The dress! Should I wear the sleeveless, scoop neck raspberry dress that I got last month, or the strapless grey one that my mom gave me for my birthday?" Hanna explained, a bit frustrated at the fact that Spencer didn't listen to her. "I mean, I like the grey one but don't you think is a little too much? But I think maybe the raspberry one isn't like… enough. I'm leaning towards the raspberry one anyway, because I could add some heels and it would do the trick, but what do you think?"

Spencer quickly analyzed the little she had heard of Hanna's rant and answered. "The raspberry one, totally"

Hanna gave her an approving nod, and turned to Aria to discuss accessories again, leaving Spencer to get lost in her thoughts again.

After noticing that Spencer lacked her usual nerve, the girls looked at each other and frowned.

"What's with you today?" Emily asked.

Spencer shook her head, "Nothing. What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been on La La Land all the time we've been here" Hanna pointed out.

"There's nothing."

"C'mon you've been like this the whole morning, and you've been acting a little weird for the whole week." Aria said.

Hanna suddenly smiled mischievously and in a sing-song voice she said "I think Spencer's likes somebody" Spencer only avoided her eyes and Hanna's eyes widened. "Oh my God! Who is he?"

"No one! He's no one! I mean… there's no one!"

"He certainly doesn't sound like no one." Aria said and Emily nodded.

Spencer glared at the three girls. "There's no one, ok?"

"C'mon, Spence!" Hanna giggled. "Tell us!"

"Don't you have a date to get ready for?" Spencer snapped looking at her blonde friend.

"Nope, not until four! 'till then I'm all ears for your little love story."

The three girls stared wide eyed to Spencer with knowing smiles on plastered on their faces, waiting for her to spill.

The brunette girl almost smacked her head on the table, she knew there wasn't a way out this, so she might as well tell them.

Spencer sighed "First of all, is not a 'love story' and I do not have a crush on the guy."

"So there is a guy!" Aria smirked earning another glare from Spencer. "Sorry, go on"

"I met him like... a week ago on this little coffee shop that's on my way home from school, and we talked."

"And?" Hanna insisted.

"And that's it." Spencer remarked. "There's nothing more than that."

"At least give us a name!" Aria demanded.

The other two girls nodded and stared at Spencer with puppy eyes, waiting for the answer.

"Toby. Toby Cavanaugh." She said with a small smile.

Emily gasped "Oh! That guy lives right next to me!"

Spencer frowned. The girls spent so much time at each other's houses and she had never seen Toby in his house.

"Really? You sure it's the same guy?"

"Tall, brunette and with amazing blue eyes?" Emily asked.

"Definitely him…"

Hanna and Aria watched the exchange between their friends with curious eyes.

"He moved over the summer, his dad remarried this woman, so he lives with them and his step-sister." Emily told them, earning a confused look from the girls; she shrugged "My mom gave the ma 'proper welcome to Rosewood' and I'm pretty sure she didn't leave the house until they told them the details on their lives"

"Of course she did." Hanna smirked and then turned to Spencer. "So now you know more about the mysterious Spencer!"

"You know? He's barely in the house, so he actually does seem pretty mysterious to me" Emily told them before Spencer could reply.

Spencer contained a sigh… Toby _was _mysterious, and even though she tried to deny it, she was dying to figure the mystery out.


End file.
